Now *this* is what I call literature...

[khaosworks]

They don't write like this anymore...

...

"Your life," said the stranger's voice slowly, "is no longer your own. It belongs to me, now... I shall improve it... I shall make it useful. But I shall risk it, too. Perhaps I shall lose it, for I have lost lives, just as I have saved them. This is my promise: life, with enjoyment, with danger, with excitement, and with money. Life, above all, with honor. But if I give it, I demand obedience. Absolute obedience..."

...

Then he turned upon the others. This was sport. He was revelling in the joy of battle and the lust of blood. As though it had been but a brittle shell, to break at the least rough usage, the thin veneer of his civilization fell from him, and the ten burly villains found themselves penned in a small room with a wild and savage beast, against whose steel muscles their puny strength was less than futile.

...

Many parts of the world would see the coming of this bronze man and his five friends of iron. Many a human fiend would rue the day he pitted himself against them. Countless rightful causes would receive help from their powerful hands and superbly trained minds... and through all that, the work of Savage would go on!



Where Are The Heroes
Lyrics and Music (C) 2003 by Terence Chua

They towered like giants these heroes of old
A titan of Bronze with sinewy arms
His eyes flecked with gold
A Shadow whose laughter would paralyze men
They made sure each day that crime wouldn't pay
And bore bitter fruit in the end

The world looked so simple then
In flickering celluloid tones
On newsprint in white and in black
Flying faster than starlight
Exploring beyond the unknown
Oh, how I wish that we could go back


Now where are the heroes
With steely grey eyes
Who grappled with evil
And horrors primeval
And never told lies?
They battled for justice
And took us along
I sit here and wonder
Just where have they gone

We journeyed through cities forgotten by time
Alien invasions and undersea nations
In color for a dime
The jungles were ruled by a Lord of the Apes
We looked to the stars for a Princess of Mars
And we thrilled to each daring escape

There were no limits
Impossible didn't exist
And courage always lay within
The world kept its myst'ries
Adventures were hard to resist
They'd meet them all with a wink and a grin


Now where are the heroes
Who once saved us all
That's all in the past
Now good guys finish last
There's no curtain call
I wish I could follow
Ride into the dawn
And go with my heroes
Wherever they've gone

Somehow we've forgotten
The wonders that they let us see
And being a hero's become a cliche
If growing means losing
The wonder in you and in me
Then I'll be a kid for the rest of my days


And where are the heroes
We left them behind
They fought through the ages
On screens and on pages
But they couldn't fight time
But somewhere inside us
They must linger on
Remember the heroes
Long after they're gone

So here's to the heroes
With steely grey eyes
Who grappled with evil
And horrors primeval
And never told lies
I'll always remember
To follow their call
Here's to the heroes
Inside of us all

Here's to the heroes
Inside of us all

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Very nice. MP3? Or will that wait until after OVFF?

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I like it. Your introductory paragraphs were fun too. I'm pretty sure the second of the three comes from The Return of Tarzan.

For the answer to the question that the song asks, they are with us. Not comic book heros like Tarzan or Captain America, but real people who do quietly heroic things.

[mrpsyklops.livejournal.com]

The first is from one of The Shadow stories, and the third is from one of the Doc Savage adventures.

Very nice song - I look forward to hearing it.